Combe Bank School

Combe Bank School

Established	1924
Type	Independent day school
Head	Mrs Julie Tricks
Chair of the Governors	Dr C Diggory
Location	Combe Bank Drive Sundridge Sevenoaks District Kent TN14 6AE England 53°11′28″N 2°53′49″W / 53.191°N 2.897°W / 53.191; -2.897Coordinates: 53°11′28″N 2°53′49″W / 53.191°N 2.897°W / 53.191; -2.897
Local authority	Kent
Students	300~
Gender	Boys &Girls
Ages	3–18
Website	www.combebank.co.uk

Combe Bank School is an independent day school for boys and girls in the village of Sundridge in Sevenoaks, Kent. The school was founded by the Society of the Holy Child Jesus but is now open to children of all faiths. It is a member of the ISA and IAPS. In February 2015 Combe Bank became part of the Radnor House Group of Schools. ^[1]

History of the school

Combe Bank School was founded in 1924 by the Roman Catholic Society of the Holy Child Jesus in a Palladian mansion built for the Duke of Argyll. The building is now a Grade I listed building ^[2][3]

The preparatory school occupies the old stable block, built around a small courtyard, and the senior school is based in the main house, extended and developed to provide the facilities needed for a pupils’ independent day school. The school recently joined with Radnor House of Twickenham to form the Radnor House Group of schools.

In March 2014 the school became co-educational, taking boys from Nursery to Year 9 and the Sixth Form.

Combe Bank now consists of a Nursery, Preparatory School, Senior School and Sixth Form which means children may study at the school from age 3 all the way to Sixth Form. Entry into the Senior School and Sixth Form is selective.^[4]

Curriculum

The 2015 ISI Combe Bank achieved the ‘Excellent’ (highest grading, equivalent to the Ofsted ‘Outstanding’) for the areas linked to their teaching and learning, achievement, pastoral care and personal development. .^[5]

Children generally take 10 GCSEs and are required to take English, Mathematics, Modern Foreign Language, Separate Sciences or Science plus Additional Science and Religious Studies plus three other subjects. In 2014, their GCSE students achieved excellent results with 97% of pupils gaining 5 or more A*-C grades. Their sixth form students achieved 100% pass at A level with all students gaining a place at the university of their choice for the fourth year running.

Activities

There are many extracurricular activities available including the Duke of Edinburgh Award, sports and performing arts. Combe Bank is also heavily involved in the community through its choral society, which is open to members of the community as well.^[6]

Combe Bank house

Combe Bank (or Coombe Bank) was originally built in the Palladian style for Colonel John Campbell, afterwards Duke of Argyle, by Roger Morris in the second quarter of the 18th century. It has a 5-bay frontage, the central bays in 2 storeys with 2 and a half storey end bays under low pyramidal roofs. A ground floor porch and Ionic screen were added by Richard Norman Shaw circa 1900.^[2]

The estate passed to the 4th Duke's son, Lord Frederick Campbell, and on the latter's death in 1816 his daughter sold the property to William Manning MP, who was forced to sell it when he went bankrupt in 1831.

By 1879 it was in the possession of William Spottiswoode, President of the Royal Society and in 1907 had been purchased by Ludwig Mond of the chemical company ICI. In the 1920s it passed, after much of the estate land had been separately sold, to the Society of the Holy Child Jesus for use as a convent boarding school. During both world wars it was requisitioned for use as a convalescent home for wounded troops.^[7]

References

External links

• School Website
• ISI Inspection Report